Dancing With Demons
by triplehalo
Summary: "He had a decision: to either live with the one person he loved or die and be free. No, Will doesn't love you the way you love him, Nico thought as a rush of guilt and emptiness filled him. A tear hit the ground and splashed, glowing against the vibrant colors of the floor." The son of Hades is forced to make a terrible choice when he faces his demons. Cover art by Viria.
1. Moonlit Tears

TRIGGER WARNING: some cutting and intense thoughts of suicide

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The unforgivingly cold wind blew across his tattered bloody wrists leaving him with a sharp stinging pain. His bare feet were battered as a sign of walking shoeless for miles. Outside of Camp Half-Blood to the lonely isolated cliff where he stood Nico thought about his pain. Shivers went down Nico's spine because he was dressed in no more than plaid boxers, revealing the messages he had written on his pale white skin in bold black sharpie. _Devil child, gay, misfit, depressed, loser, freak, demon boy, possessed weirdo, moron, idiot,_ and other names he had been called lined his skin from head to toe as if they were loudly shouting all the bad things that had ever happened screeching the misery of his life, but no more. Life had been nothing but utter agony for him. As if it weren't enough for the gods and their cruelty making him a misfit son of Hades, he grew up out of the culture he was born in left to rot in a casino, his sister died, the way he felt about people, what he loved, was socially unacceptable. He could not run from it; anywhere he went he was considered a filthy out cast, deemed unworthy of rights.

But it would all end with one jump.

He would be over it, it would all disappear. He had always felt more at home among the dead, anyway. _So why not join them?_ he thought.

The beautiful mysterious black of Nico's eyes swallowed the pure gold light of the moon as he raised his head up for one last look at the beautiful scenery around him, one last glimpse at life before he fell. _It will all be over soon,_ he imagined.

_I__'__ll finally be free_.

Arms open as if he was going to embrace all that was left, he swayed his body forward toward the edge of the cliff. He leaned over the edge and let go.

He started to fall forward when all of sudden, strong and swift, he was pulled and wrapped in arms from behind as a voice soothing like an angel sent warm air down his neck saying,

"I'm not going to let you do that Nico."

Startled, Nico spun around, breaking free from the embrace to see a mop of shaggy blonde hair that brought out the sky blue eyes of the boy with an athletic build. He was tall, much taller than Nico. It was Will Solace, an orange hoodie and purple pajama pants outlining his figure. Anger swelled and mixed with sorrow becoming emptiness in poor Nico.

"Why do you care? Just let me die, okay? I'll be free from this wretched life."

Staring into the beautiful bright blue of Will's eyes, he saw sympathy and compassion.

"Because you," Will said, "are unlike any one else Nico. You are a special human being, and I'm not talking about your powers or shadow-travelling or crap. I'm talking about you as a person. You are special and I can't let you waste you life like this. I don't care if you hate me. I value your life more than I care about the way that you feel about me. "

Pain, sorrow, and emptiness took their place in Nico. Shimmering like diamonds in the moon's glorious light, tears streamed down his face.

"I...I-I don't care. JUST LET ME DIE!"

At that moment Nico ran back towards the cliff, but Will was faster, wrapping his strong arms around Nico as he screamed and yelled, tears running down his face. Strong and study, Will held Nico until he stopped struggling. Nico fell to the ground with his head looking down.

"You must be cold?" Will's gentle voice said as he pulled off his sweatshirt, showing his tan and toned body. Will stooped down and slowly put the sweatshirt on Nico, adjusting the sleeves to fit. The tears still found their way down his face as Will's hand reached out to Nico. Reluctantly, Nico took it and and stood up as Will grabbed him into a bear hug, whispering, "Its okay, Nico. It's okay."

Feeling the warmth of his beating heart, Nico buried his face in Will's chest. He felt safe, and for once he felt loved. They stood there like that until Nico's vision went dark as he found himself drifting asleep.


	2. Fading Memories

Will looked down at the boy asleep in his arms. The poor thing, his life was a never-ending battle against unbearable pain, but he always seemed to overcome the challenges. Nico had toughly fought against the obstacles no matter how hopeless, but no one can win all their battles. Time, the most patient enemy of all, had taken its toll on him. The fog of despair had snatched Nico into its endless void of loneliness.

Will picked up the pale white boy with black shaggy hair and held him in his arms and started to walk the trek back to camp. Goosebumps tingled across Will's bare skin and his breath misted out of his mouth like a dragon's breath. Ear to ear, a smile grew on his face as he thought back to the first time he had met Nico. It had been a few months ago...

_Sauntering around the camp, Will had found himself at the battle grounds where capture the flag took place. Broken armor and rusted helmets lined the ground and a fog rolled in over the horizon. Chills flew down Will's spine as he stopped mid step after hearing a bone like sound and a strange noise off in the distance. Slowly, he had inched his way over, sword drawn and sweat piling up._

_BAM._

_As Will had peered around the trees, he had run right into a walking skeleton. Will jumped what seemed like ten feet and landed on his butt, then screamed_

_"OH MY GODS WHAT IN HADES IS THAT?"_

_"OH my gods, I"m so sorry I thought I was the only one out here." a slender boy had said sheepishly._

_"Holy crap, you scared me dude!" Will said as he got up. "Anyway, I don't think we have met. I'm Will Solace."_

_He extended his right hand and was reluctantly met with the other boy's hand._

_"I'm… I'm Nico." The boy stammered and awkwardly shuffled his feet. It was obvious he wanted to be left alone. Will ignored the signs and had spent the rest of the hanging out with Nico, doing stupid things while Nico was unwillingly following along. Right then and there, on that day, Will promised himself he would be the person who took care of Nico. If no one else would, he would._

Jumping back into reality on that cold harsh night, Will stared the boy in his arms. The boy who had been broken by fate. Nico, like a child to its mother, clung to Will even while sound asleep, a soul searching for a rock to grab onto in the stream of tortured souls. Will would be strong for Nico; he vowed it.

Finally, after that long walk, Will could see the shine of firelight from his home, their home, Camp Half-Blood. Because Will was the camp doctor, he had his own place where he could go so as not to spread sickness among the cabin, and that's where he headed. His house was a small but cozy one room building with blue walls slathered with posters. There was a mini kitchen, a TV, a bed, and a half-room bathroom. Gently, Will lowered Nico onto the bed as he slowly ruffled his hair to wake him up.

"Nico, we're home!"

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Hey everyone! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Catch you later. -Halo


	3. The Fall

The first thing Nico saw upon waking was Will's bright eyed smile saying, "Nico, we're home!"

He rustled around in the sheets that were as soft as silk and then slowly sat up, looking down at his feet.

"Come on Nico, let's wash you off. We don't want all those lies to bring you down."

That's right_._ The things written on his body, the names that people had labeled and chained him by. Slow as a sloth, Nico stood up, inching his way towards the bathroom. Finally, after what seemed like years, he made it to the tub and sat down on the rim.

"Nico, I'm going to take the sweatshirt off, okay?"

Bitter dead silence filled the room. Will extended his arms and pulled the jacket off. Running warm water splashed against the ice cold floor and Nico's back, and the warm soothing water felt nice. A screechy noise echoed through the room as Will turned the faucet off and poured some blue soap into the still water, causing it to swirl as if it were a firework lighting up the sky. Will reached down for a cloth and paused.

"I'm going to start washing off the sharpie now, okay?"

The blissful sound of nothingness swarmed through the air. Will dipped the cloth in the water and went to work. Slow as a snail but soft as a cloud, Will lifted the dripping cloth and started to push it against Nico's upper arms. His strong firm grip shook Nico a bit at first, but he soon learned to add a little resistance so the sharpie would fade faster. Will's kind loving hands moved their way to Nico's wrists. Wincing with pain, Nico looked away from Will shamefully. The son of Apollo looked down at Nico's damaged wrists and held his hand

"I'm going to go get some ambrosia, okay?"

Silence found its home in that room. Will got up, headed to the kitchen, and came back a few minutes later with a steaming mug.

"I heated it up because it's so cold outside. Here you go."

Will handed the mug to Nico. His taste buds tingled as he tasted what seemed to be hot chocolate in the glass. It was just like what his sister had made when they were little. Warmth rushed across his skin as he could feel the liquid flowing through his body. The pain in his wrist vanished as if it had never existed in the first place. Red sticky liquid dripped onto the floor as Will tenderly cleaned the blood off Nico's wrists.

Their eyes met. Will seemed to be asking with his expression if it was okay for him to wash off his legs. Nico stared back at the floor and then peeped up as if to say yes. Will carefully started to work on Nico's legs and clean the marks off. 15 minutes passed and all the names had been washed away, spiraling down the drain.

"I'm glad that's done. Come on, let's go back the main room. I'll prepare the bed for you!"

They both got up and walked to the main room, and Nico sat on the floor watching Will scurry around preparing the bed.

"Okay, it's ready!"

Nico slowly got up and laid in the bed. He shuffled around in the soft as fur sheets and made himself comfy as a wave of overwhelming exhaustion hit him. Before he fell asleep, he saw Will laying on cold hard ground with nothing more than one blanket.

"Good night, Nico."

His eyelids went black as stars blazed in the sky, and Nico's heart felt an old feeling.

He was falling in love.

But he knew where that led; it was a cold, hard dead end. Joy and sadness drifted throughout him, fighting in battle to claim victory, as Nico fell asleep.


	4. Bacon and Pancakes

Will woke up early that morning, so he decided to make breakfast. He walked over to the mini fridge he had at the foot of his bed and saw Nico asleep. He looked so peaceful which made Will happy. He pulled out everything he had in his fridge and went to work. The fire from the stove burned bright as he cooked the bacon and mixed the pancake batter. He slowly poured it out and made pancakes as he heard Nico rustling in his bed. Finally Nico got up, bedhead and all, and walked over towards Will.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!"

Nico replied with a slothish, "Good morning."

Will went back to work on what he was cooking, making sure not to burn it. After it was finished, the glorious smell of pancakes drowned in maple syrup and bacon ran around the room as Will set up a folding table. The plates were messy but Will was proud of it. Most of the time he couldn't cook at all but Nico was worth it.

"Breakfast is served!"

Nico's stomach growled as they each took a small section of their meal and threw it into the burner as offering and then sat back down. Will watched on edge as Nico took a bite and was hooked. He piled the food in his mouth, the poor thing looking as if he hadn't eaten in days. Will had a few bites and gave the rest to Nico.

"Thanks, Will."

"Ehhh I'm not hungry anyway. It's no big deal!" Will said as his stomach growled. He didn't care though, he found more joy out of sharing then eating it himself.

"Well, I'll be back later Nico. I need to go buy more groceries. Here's the TV remote, I'm sure you can entertain yourself for a while. I'll be back soon! Bye!"

"Bye."

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Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Prepare yourselves, from now on it's gonna get real feelsy... hehe. -Halo


	5. Dancing With Demons

Nico was in love.

But it was hopeless just like last time. He knew it would only cause him pain.

Deep in thought, Nico felt a sudden change in climate. In an instance, like a feather Nico was swept off his feet, one second in Will's apartment the next in a ballroom. The floor was made of the most red ruby he had ever seen, shimmering and reflecting the black lightning opal walls. Lighting trapped in a cage of purple and black storm clouds, that's what the walls looked like. There was no other way to describe them. Suspended in thin air was a pure diamond chandelier, shining in a magnificent rage, blinding Nico, forcing him to look away. There were doors on one end, and with a sudden burst they opened and three figures walked over towards him. All three were stunningly beautiful, as if crafted by the most divine hands. They were tallish boys with dead black hair, but each had a different style; one swished to the side, one spiked, and one with it long and covering one eye. Above their heads sat three shining crimson red halos, dripping the purest of blood onto their black suits. Their pale skin shown against the dark colors covering their bodies. They were a sight to see, brilliant and gorgeous.

The three made their way to where Nico was standing. He realized he too was wearing a suit as the strangers approached. The one with his hair to the side spoke, and his voice sounded like a perfect harmony, soft and sweet but bold.

"Hello, Nico di Angelo. Let me introduce myself. I am one of the three demon princes of death. You probably have heard of us. Mythology fails to mention us, but we have been called by many names in other cultures. I am Satan. This is my brother Lucifer," He gestured to the boy with long hair.

"Hello."

"And this is my brother The Deceiver,"

The boy with spiked hair and skull earnings piped in, "Hey, wassup?"

Satan continued, "We are the triplet sons of Thanatos, and we are referred to as the three demons of death. We do our fathers bidding. We have lived for centuries and never in all of our time have we seen a soul as tortured by the Fates as yours."

The boy with long hair joined in, "Dear Nico, we have taken pity and sympathy on you and come bearing a gift and-"

He was cut off by the brother with spiked hair, "We would totally like to offer you something you have like never seen before, something more graceful, more elegant than peace itself."

All this time, the crimson blood was slowly sliding down their faces and soaking parts of their hair.

"We would like to offer you Death." said Satan as they all bowed.

Taken aback, Nico stuttered, "Uhh… what do you mean?"

Lucifer answered with compassion flowing from his eyes as he opened his hand and a bottle magically appeared. "These are berries from our garden of death. Once they are digested, you will have a quick and painless death."

Satan cut in, "If you except our offer, I ask that you will dance with me."

Nico was awestruck. He finally had a way out a way to be free, a quick painless death. But Will… what about will?

A twinge of guilt hit his gut. A tear found its place in his eyes. He had a decision, to either live with one person he loved, or die and be free. _No, Will doesn't love you the way you love him_, Nico thought as a rush of guilt and emptiness filled him. He could not live knowing the one person who cared about him didn't return his affections. A tear hit the ground and splashed, glowing against the vibrant colors of the floor.

Nico gave his answer.

Immediately, Lucifer drew out his magnificent wings, black as the night sky, scattered with stars, and The Deceiver took his place at a piano that materialized. Lucifer pulled out a violin and went to work. Violently, the violin was played, joining with the glorious crashing of the piano keys, sending invigorating sound into the air. Swaying back and forth, Nico danced with Satan. Step by step, they swung across the room. Nico knew not the rhythm or steps, but his body seemed to follow along with his partner as sweat built up on his brow. The song of death sounded so sweet, yet strong and bold.

That night, Nico had chosen to dance with the demons of death.


	6. The Death Note

_BAM_.

Milk and egg cartons hit the ground, spattering a mixture mess onto the floor. Will ran over to his bed, which was decorated in an elaborate manner, the pillows straightened, sheets folded, ruby red roses scattered randomly in an array. In the middle lay Nico, his arms crossed over his chest. Will noticed a note in his hands and picked it up and read in a death-like font,

Dear Will, I'm glad that in the end I can die knowing at least one person in this cruel world cared about me. You have plenty of friends and family so I hope you won't miss me much. Will, I loved you, but not in the way you loved me. I'm glad I've been able to have a nice peaceful past few days but I was never planing on living. I am of the dead and that's where I belong. I love you.

~Nico di Angelo

The paper creased with the shimmering drops of Will's tears as they hit the page.

"I'm not letting you go Nico!"

Will's beloved tears uncontrollably streamed down his face. In a panic, he scanned Nico for a cause of death. _He must have had to intake something to prepare the bed like that_, Will thought as he ran for the sink. Franticly, his hand trembling, he grabbed a cup and filled it with water, trying to get control over himself. He spilled salt all over as he put it in the glass. He ran back to Nico and pulled open his mouth, forcing the water down. He kept repeating this process.

The Fates were cruel beasts, to them life was no more than a thread they had to cut when they chose death for a person. Nico had been a thread of pure gold until the Fates found him. They defiled and scarred the thread, they burned it in the fire of loneliness. The Fates had enjoyed playing with Nico and by the time they were done, his thread was barely holding onto itself, withered and bruised, the gold gone black, and so finally they threw out their trash. The thread had been forgotten about because no one wants trash.

Oh how foolish of the Fates, for one man's trash is another man's treasure, and for Will this tattered thread was worth more than gold. He had tended to and cared for this thread and was not about to give up on it. Fate has misstepped, and Will was not going to let them win. He would not let them take Nico away from him. Will, sweat dripping, tears gushing, picked up Nico and held him close, falling to the floor. No matter how much saltwater he made Nico drink, he would not puke up whatever he had taken. Will looked up, holding the pale beautiful boy in his hands as tears fell like crystal balls.

His voice shaking, he screamed, "I-I…_I won__'__t let you win, Fate!_"

Wailing, he hit the ground. _Why__… __how could Nico be gone? Not after all this!_ Innocent tears rolled off his soft face.

"Nico, you can't die! I… I love you!"

At that moment, the dead boy awoke from his slumber, coughing as he found his way the bathroom. Nico bent over the toilet, hurling the berries of death out. Will was overjoyed.

Nico was alive.

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**Thank you guys so much for the reviews! Especially you, Blackcat maven. The next chapter should be up tomorrow. -Halo  
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	7. The Heartbeat of an Angel

Nico awoke from the most peaceful sleep to a turning feeling in his stomach as he made his way to the bathroom. He bent over and hurled, then slowly walked out, greeted with teary eyes full of relief. Will ran over to him and wrapped him in his arms, squeezing him with all his might.

"This time I'm not letting you go."

Nico burrowed his face in Will's jacket, but a guilty ache crept into his weak heart, consuming it. Tears built up in his eyes as he thought about the way he felt for Will. He grabbed onto part of Will's hoodie and clenched his fist.

"Will—I… it's just—"

He was cut off by Will who pushed Nico so they could see each other eye to eye. His blue eyes sparkled and gleamed.

"Nico it's okay. I know."

"But then…"

Again Nico was cut off, but this time it was by something more powerful than words. Will bent over, kissing Nico's forehead, looking back into his shocked eyes. Then he pulled him close again.

"I told you I'm not letting you go, and I meant what I said."

Nico buried his face into Will's chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Through all the pain, all the torture, he found someone who cared. Nico held tight to Will, never wanting to let go, hoping this was not a dream. The mess on the floor, the decorated bed, that small apartment—he wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Time had stopped as they stood glued together. An angel had fallen for a demon, and so that angel had walked through the treacherous fires of hell to be with that demon, but the angel didn't mind the flames.

"How about we clean this place up?"

Wills soft voiced swayed in the air like a melody reaching Nico's ears.

"Okay."

Not a word was uttered as they worked together to clean up the spilt groceries and bed, but they both could feel the love they had for each other. Night was approaching when they finished.

"Hey Nico? Do you wanna go to the fire pit tonight?"

"Um… okay."

Will stayed in the clothes he had gone shopping in, an orange Camp Half-Blood sweatshirt and jeans. They walked together to the Fire pit as the sun blazed on the horizon, throwing royal purple, timid pink, neon orange, and many other vibrant colors in the sky. They arrived at the fire pit with the rest of the camp. It was cold and Nico had forgotten a jacket; he was shivering.

"Here, you can have my hoodie," Will said with compassion.

"No, its okay I'm—"

A jacket hitting his face interrupted him. He put on the hoodie. It was a little too big and the sleeves were dangling, but it was cozy. The pit sat not far from the beach and the ocean was magnificently bright as the sun set. After the sun went down, the fire danced with yellows, oranges, and reds as a few campers got out instruments and started singing campfire songs. Everyone was laughing and messing around. Nico leaned back laughing, slipping his hand onto the wood log they sat on. Will promptly slid his hand into Nico's, slowly but strongly. Nico heartbeat tripped as he looked down at his hand, blushing, then looked back up at Will, who's bright-eyed compassionate smile warmed Nico's heart. Nico in turn held Will's hand as they sat there, not caring what people thought. As the night swam on, the fire died down and the songs got less silly and more serious.

Will was staring at the stars. He looked at Nico and said,

"I love you, Nico."

"I love you too."

Nico leaned his head onto Will's shoulder and closed his eyes. He felt safe and warm. Nico knew he would never have to dance with demons or death ever again.

Because he had found himself an angel.

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Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading this and reviewing, it means a lot to me. See you next fic! -Halo


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